Hash functions are well known in the field of data security. The principle is to take data (a digital message, digital signature, etc.) and use it as an entry to a hash function resulting in an output called a “digest” of predetermined length which is intended to uniquely identify (“fingerprint”) the message. A secure (cryptographic) hash is such that any alteration in the message results in a different digest, even though the digest is much shorter than the message. Such hash functions are “collision-resistant” and “one-way.”
Cryptography and data security deal with digital signatures, encryption, document authentication, and hashing. In all of these fields, there is a set of basic tools/functions which are widely used, for instance hash functions. Several properties are required for the use of hash functions in cryptographic applications: preimage resistance, second preimage resistance and collision resistance.
In the recent years, much energy has been expended finding new hash functions, since collisions (weaknesses or successful attacks) have been found in the widely used SHA-1 standard hash.